Go to Google right now and search your business name. Then go to Yelp and search it. Then check Apple Maps. Then check your own website footer.
Do all four match exactly? Same name, same address format, same phone number?
If not, you have a NAP consistency problem — and it's one of the biggest reasons local businesses rank lower than they should.
What Is NAP?
NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone number. It's the most basic piece of local SEO, and it's the one most agencies never touch.
Google's algorithm cross-references your business information across dozens of sources — your website, Google Business Profile, Yelp, Apple Maps, Bing Places, Facebook, Foursquare, and industry directories. When that information matches everywhere, Google trusts that you're a real, established business and rewards you with better rankings.
When it doesn't match, Google gets confused. Is "Bob's Plumbing" the same as "Bob's Plumbing LLC"? Is the one on "123 Main St" the same as "123 Main Street, Suite A"? Google doesn't guess — it downgrades you until it can figure it out.
Common NAP Mistakes
These seem small but they matter more than you think:
- Name variations: "Bob's Plumbing" vs "Bob's Plumbing LLC" vs "Bob's Plumbing Services"
- Address format: "St" vs "Street", "Ste" vs "Suite", including or excluding unit numbers
- Phone number: Using a cell on Google but a landline on Yelp, or old numbers that never got updated
- Stale listings: Old addresses from before you moved, or a phone number you changed 2 years ago
How to Fix It
The fix is boring but it works. Go to every platform where your business appears and make sure the name, address, and phone number are identical — character for character.
Start with the ones that matter most:
- Google Business Profile
- Your website (footer, contact page, and schema markup)
- Yelp
- Apple Maps (via Apple Business Connect)
- Bing Places
- Facebook business page
- Foursquare (this one matters more than people think — it powers about 60-70% of ChatGPT's local results)
Then search for your business name in quotes on Google. Look for any old directory listings, old Yelp pages, or anything with outdated info. Update or claim each one.
Why Your Agency Probably Hasn't Done This
Because it's tedious, it's not glamorous, and they can't charge you $500 to do it. It takes about an hour of focused work. But that one hour of cleanup can move you up multiple positions in local search results.
If you're paying someone to manage your online presence and they haven't mentioned NAP consistency, ask them about it. Their answer will tell you everything you need to know about what you're actually paying for.